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Parkland shooter trial, monkeypox, when cocaine cowboys reigned Miami

This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles, left, and spherical immature particles, right.
Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner
/
CDC via AP
This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles, left, and spherical immature particles, right.

People in South Florida affected by the Parkland school shooting are reacting to the tragedy that unfolded at an elementary school in Texas. Two possible monkeypox cases are being investigated in Broward. Plus, in honor of our Sundial book club, we learn about the real-life cocaine cowboys who shaped Miami.

On this Wednesday, May 25, edition of Sundial:

Parkland shooter trial

People in South Florida know all too well about the pain and sadness that's being felt in Texas.

Yesterday 21 people, two adults and the rest of them were fourth-graders who died at the hands of a lone gunman. It has again stirred anger and debate over gun control measures.

WLRN is committed to providing South Florida with trusted news and information. As the pandemic continues, our mission is as vital as ever. Your support makes it possible. Please donate today. Thank you.

This is all happening as the South Florida community is still in the midst of the trial of the confessed Parkland shooter from 2018. They’re in the process of jury selection.

WLRN's Broward County Correspondent Gerard Albert III joined Sundial to talk about the latest from the trial while the community is still grieving.

Find mental health resources here.

Albert III also spoke about county commissioners recently agreeing to give the Broward Sheriff's Office millions of dollars to help their problems with emergency call center workers missing residents' 911 calls. Those issues were uncovered by a recent Sun Sentinel investigation.

Parkland shooter trial

Monkeypox

A small outbreak of a rare disease called monkeypox has been detected in various countries. Two possible monkeypox cases are being investigated in Broward County. They are the first two reported in the state.

“[It] is a rash that is accompanied by fever, some chills, muscle aches, headache, exhaustion, sort of a typical cold and flu-like symptoms, some swollen lymph nodes as well,” said Joshua Lenchus, the interim chief medical officer for Broward Health.

The headlines about this viral disease might bring back memories of 2020 when COVID-19 emerged, but health experts say this virus is different and extremely unlikely to become a pandemic.

“This is much, much different than COVID. COVID 19, when that hit, the world was completely unexposed to COVID, previously. Monkeypox, in addition to the chickenpox being in that same family, so is smallpox ... we have about 70 years worth of experience in dealing with that. It was eradicated in the United States in 1980,” said Lenchus. “Monkeypox is spread through touching the lesions. It can be spread through an infected animal that bites you … It's spread through bodily fluids, which is a little different than then COVID.”

He added that it's extremely rare for somebody in the United States to contract monkeypox.

Monkeypox
Symptoms of the monkeypox virus are shown on a patient's hand, from a 2003 case in the United States. In most instances, the disease causes fever and painful, pus-filled blisters. New cases in the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal are spreading possibly through sexual contact, which had not previously been linked to monkeypox transmission.

When cocaine cowboys reigned Miami

For this month’s Sundial Book Club, we went back to Miami in the 1980s, when these sunny and sandy shores were the center of the drug trade — specifically for cocaine.

We’re reading "Hotel Scarface: Where Cocaine Cowboys Partied and Plotted to Control Miami.” It tells the true story of that time through the lens of an iconic hotel. Find our conversation with the author of the book Roben Farzad here.

A Netflix series titled “Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami” explores the story of the real-life cocaine cowboys — Sal Magluta and Willy Falcon. They were the leaders of the city’s cocaine trade bringing in an estimated $2 billion worth over the course of the decade.

The director, Billy Corben, and local CBS journalist Jim DeFede, who was involved in the series, joined Sundial to discuss how this story came together.

When cocaine cowboys reigned Miami

Leslie Ovalle Atkinson is the former lead producer behind Sundial. As a multimedia producer, she also worked on visual and digital storytelling.
Caitie Muñoz, formerly Switalski, leads the WLRN Newsroom as Director of Daily News & Original Live Programming. Previously she reported on news and stories concerning quality of life in Broward County and its municipalities for WLRN News.